Gigli Ziz
Gigli Ziz is a character in Breath of Fire II who is obsessed with unleashing the magical potential within the shaman clan's bonding ability. Each of the shamans refer to her as "Granny," and their esteem for her is such that they instantly follow her to Township. This seems to indicate that, if not their biological grandmother, she is at least a familiar authority figure, and perhaps an aged shaman herself. She is not to be confused with Granny a similarly named but unrelated character within the same game. Role in Breath of Fire II Gigli sends Sana to Capitan in order to find volunteers for their magical experiments. Sana eventually leads Ryu to their hut in the Jah Woods, where Gigli guides them through the uniting process. However, since Ryu is a member of the Dragon Clan, the procedure unleashes a much greater amount of energy than Gigli intended, with Ryu briefly transforming into the Fire Puppy and burning down the entire forest. Gigli's analysis of Ryu's powers during these events provide one of the first hints about his true heritage. With their home destroyed, and Gigli and Ryu's interest in Ryu piqued, they follow him to the newly renovated Township where they take up residence in the side house of Ryu's home. Gigli then asks Ryu to find a carpenter who can build them an experimentation room. After the renovations are made, she implores Ryu to seek out the other shamans throughout the word and bring them to her, so that she can continue with her research. Appearance Gigli's sprite is the same one used for multiple old women throughout the game, including Granny. However, Gigli's unique brown robe helps to instantly distinguish her from them. Wisewoman of Wyndia When the exiled princess Nina reconciles with her father there is a flashback in which an old woman with this sprite warns the King of the dangers of keeping a child with black wings within the kingdom. This character (identified as "Granny") also uses the same sprite, however, since the scene is in black and white, it's impossible to tell whether this individual was intended to be Gigli, Granny of Tunlan, or another character entirely. Personality Gigli's overwhelming desire to tap into the heretofore unfulfilled potential of Shaman bonding seems to eclipse every other concern in her life. If she is indeed a shaman herself, this would signal an undying devotion to her people. She also appears to possess conservative morals as she disapproves with Sana flirting with Ryu as a means of luring him to the hut. Despite her strict and pushy demeanor, the shamans still show her considerable respect, perhaps signifying that they recognize the importance of her work and that she truly has the best interest of their people in mind. Etymology "Gigli" is Italian for "lilies" and "Ziz" is a Hebrew noun meaning "blossom." As such, the character's name roughly translates to "Blossom of the lilies," perhaps in reference to her ability to induce the shamanistic transformations which help the characters to "blossom" into their full potential.